The Charlotte Hornets Are Shopping All-Star Guard Kemba Walker

This sets the stage for the Bronx legend to return home

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Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Hornets franchise has been stuck in a state of medicority with just three playoff appearances in the last decade. Now it seems they are ready to blow the whole thing up and start from scratch, beginning with a trade of their top player, All-Star guard Kemba Walker, who is averaging 21.7 ppg this season.

ESPN.com reported Friday that the Hornets are ready to entertain trade offers for the electrifying, Bronx-born and bred point guard, who led UConn to an improbable NCAA title in 2014.

The website also reported the Hornets are willing to trade other players like Nicolas Batum, Marvin Williams, Dwight Howard and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Walker, who is making just $12 million this year is a valuable asset because of his low salary in comparison to other guards of his ilk. The Hornets/Bobcats have not won a playoff series and not finished higher than sixth in the Eastern Conference since returning as a franchise in 2004-05.

Walker has been the lone bright spot for an otherwise dismal franchise. The Twittersphere is already buzzing as fans from myriad teams think Walker would be the perfect gritty, high octane, super clutch, fourth quarter destroyer for them. A franchise that has inevitably been mentioned is the New York Knicks. Kemba is a Madison Square Garden legend because of his historic performance in the 2011 Big East Finals in which he won Tournament MVP and led The Huskies to their last Big East title.

Kemba Walker and the 2010-11 UConn national championship team will go down as having one of the most improbable title runs in NCAA history. After finishing ninth in the Big East conference, the Huskies went on to win 11 straight postseason games and claim the title.

The biglead.com has already offered a scenario in which the Knicks could acquire the perfect guard for the city and their franchise, which is currently relying on a defensive-minded rookie point guard and 34-year-old journeyman Jarrett Jack to man one of the league’s most unproductive backcourts.